CPJ calls for Aleksei Navalny's release in Russia

July 18, 2013 2:40 PM ET

New
York, July 18, 2013--Russian authorities must free on appeal the anti-corruption
blogger and opposition activist Aleksei Navalny, who was
convicted on politicized charges of embezzlement today and sentenced to five
years in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Navalny was jailed
immediately after the verdict was announced, according to news reports.

"Aleksei
Navalny's imprisonment has a terrible chilling effect on investigative
reporting and further shrinks the space for freedom of expression in Russia,"
CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. "We call
on the courts to overturn this conviction, which was clearly intended to halt
both Navalny's political activities and his work in exposing corruption."

Navalny's conviction stems
from a 2009 case that is widely
seen as politically motivated and had once been closed by authorities for a
lack of evidence. Prosecutors alleged that Navalny had defrauded a state-owned
company while he was working as a volunteer aide to the regional governor of
Kirov. Navalny has denied the charge.

Navalny was propelled
to fame as a blogger and leader of
Russia's opposition movement. He is running in Moscow's September mayoral
election and has declared presidential
ambitions. His activities as an anti-corruption blogger appeared to have drawn
special attention from authorities. In an April
interview, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin toldIzvestiya:
"If a person tries with all his strength to attract attention or, if I can put
it, teases authorities--'Look at me, I'm so good compared to everyone else'--well,
then interest in his past grows and the process of exposing him naturally
speeds up."

Russian journalist Mikhail Romanov found guilty of ‘abuse of freedom of information’ and ‘false’ news

August 2, 2019 4:22 PM ET

Washington, D.C., August 2, 2019--Journalist Mikhail Romanov, a correspondent with the weekly Yakutsk Vecherniy, was found guilty on July 25 by the city court of Yakutsk, in eastern Russia, on charges of “abuse of freedom of information by publishing false information that poses a threat to the public,” according...

Washington, D.C., July 22, 2019 -- Authorities in the Republic of Ingushetia must release journalist Rashid Maysigov unconditionally and investigate allegations that he was tortured in custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....

Editor Abdulmumin Gadzhiev detained in Russia on terrorism charges

June 14, 2019 1:44 PM ET

Washington, D.C., June 14, 2019--Authorities in the Russian republic of Dagestan should immediately drop the charges against Makhachkala-based journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev and release him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....

New York, June 7, 2019 -- Russian authorities should immediately drop all charges against investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, release him, and investigate allegations that he was beaten in police custody, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....

Russian video blogger Vadim Kharchenko attacked, injured in Krasnodar

June 4, 2019 5:57 PM ET

New York, June 4, 2019--Russian authorities should conduct a swift and credible investigation into the brutal attack on video blogger Vadim Kharchenko in the southwestern city of Krasnodar and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....